Young brothers Sam and Derek have a knack for uncovering mystery and adventure. When they visit Richmond's St. John's Church for a reenactment of Patrick Henry's famous liberty speech, they stumble upon a hidden piece of history. As the boys and their friends dig deeper, they find clues from America's founding fathers and a secret plot to steal a treasure from our nation's past. Join in the mystery as the search races from the cemeteries of Richmond to the streets of Colonial Williamsburg. The Virginia Mysteries Book 2
Explore the facts and mysteries surrounding the history and collapse of Richmond, Virginia's Church Hill Tunnel. A must for fans of railroad and Richmond history. Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, was in shambles after the Civil War. The bulk of Reconstruction became dependent on the railways, and one of the most important links in the system was the Church Hill Tunnel. The tunnel was eventually rendered obsolete by an alternative path over a viaduct, and it was closed for regular operation in 1902. However, the city still used it infrequently to transport supplies, and it was maintained with regular safety inspections. The city decided to reopen the tunnel in 1925 due to overcrowding on the viaduct, but the tunnel needed to be strengthened and enlarged. On October 2, 1925, 190 ft. of the tunnel unexpectedly caved in, trapping construction workers and an entire locomotive inside. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the tunnel and the mystery surrounding its collapse. There were cave-ins and sink holes above the surface for decades after the tunnel was sealed up, and in 1998, a reporter from the Richmond Times-Dispatch did an investigation, trying to determine the current condition of the tunnel. In 2006, the Virginia Historical Society announced its efforts to try and excavate the locomotive and remaining bodies.
When ten-year-old Derek and eight-year-old Sam move with their family to Virginia, they have no idea what adventures the summer will bring. As the brothers explore their creaky old house and the deep surrounding woods, they uncover a sixty-year-old mystery of a valuable coin collection stolen from the local museum. Join the boys as they spend their summer running from danger and searching the woods, secret caves, rushing waters, and hidden passageways for treasure and the rare 1877 Indian Head cent coin! The Virginia Mysteries Book 1
Sam, Derek and Caitlin have encountered many mysteries together, but when they visit Maymont, Richmond's historic estate, danger is lurking at every turn. A chance meeting with a mysterious stranger leads to a frantic chase and a desperate message to save Maymont's bald eagles. When Sam receives an eerie warning in the middle of the night, Derek and Caitlin devise a plan that leads them high into the Blue Ridge Mountains. To save the eagles, the kids must find a secret abandoned palace, survive the wilds of the Appalachian Trail and avoid capture by criminals, all before midnight.
Dead drops, cyphers, and invisible ink are all part of a mystery that even spymaster George Washington would love. Sam, Derek, and Caitlin love solving mysteries, and when they visit Washington, DC, spies are lurking. What starts out as a fun game of pretend on the National Mall turns all too real when they follow a mysterious man to a meeting deep within the Capitol. To keep government secrets from falling into the wrong hands, the kids must work with federal agents and travel to historic Mount Vernon for a state dinner with the president and his son. Dead drops, cyphers and spy chases are all part of what might be their most dangerous adventure ever--if it isn't their last. Spies at Mount Vernon is the seventh book in The Virginia Mysteries series, but it also makes a great standalone read. The story is the perfect complement to social studies units covering George Washington as well as field trips and family vacations to Washington, DC and Mount Vernon. If you enjoy mystery and adventure like the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Magic Tree House, or National Treasure, you'll love author Steven K. Smith's exciting middle-grade series. The stories are modern-day fictional mysteries with twists of real locations and events from Virginia history. These fast-paced books are popular with both boys and girls ages 7-12, appealing to even reluctant readers Buy Spies at Mount Vernon and unlock the adventure today
Legend says that the haunting lights over the rapids on the James River at night are the ghosts of long-dead soldiers still fighting the Civil War. Just past the water lies historic Belle Isle, the former Union soldier prisoner-of-war camp, now a city park filled with crumbling ruins and dark wooded trails. When brothers Sam and Derek explore the island and local monuments to Richmond's past on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War with their friend Caitlin, some ghosts may be more alive than they expected! Join the adventure as the kids face a confederate biker gang led by the notorious Mad Dog DeWitt, explore suspended bridges, hidden hideouts, and secret graveyard ceremonies and learning about Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and more. The Virginia Mysteries Book 3
Letters in a mysterious journal between two sisters describe a lost collection and a missing treasure. As Sam, Derek, and Caitlin realize the letters were from Thomas Jefferson's granddaughters, they set out to do what they do best--solve the mystery! When the journal is stolen, the kids are forced to hunt down clues by following Jefferson's footsteps to The University of Virginia, his mountaintop home of Monticello, and a little-known retreat called Poplar Forest. But this isn't a typical walk through history. Someone from the kids' past is lurking in the shadows, bent on revenge and threatening to take much more than just the treasure. Escape from Monticello is the eighth book in The Virginia Mysteries series. The story is the perfect complement to social studies units, field trips, and family vacations related to Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, and Jack Jouett.
Sam, Derek, and Caitlin travel to historic Jamestown as part of Field School. When a priceless artifact is labeled a fraud, they must work to uncover the mystery.
A Mystery of Mysteries is a brilliant biography of Edgar Allan Poe that examines the renowned author’s life through the prism of his mysterious death and its many possible causes. It is a moment shrouded in horror and mystery. Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7, 1849, at just forty, in a painful, utterly bizarre manner that would not have been out of place in one of his own tales of terror. What was the cause of his untimely death, and what happened to him during the three missing days before he was found, delirious and “in great distress” on the streets of Baltimore, wearing ill-fitting clothes that were not his own? Mystery and horror. Poe, who remains one of the most iconic of American writers, died under haunting circumstances that reflect the two literary genres he took to new heights. Over the years, there has been a staggering amount of speculation about the cause of death, from rabies and syphilis to suicide, alcoholism, and even murder. But many of these theories are formed on the basis of the caricature we have come to associate with Poe: the gloomy-eyed grandfather of Goth, hunched over a writing desk with a raven perched on one shoulder, drunkenly scribbling his chilling masterpieces. By debunking the myths of how he lived, we come closer to understanding the real Poe—and uncovering the truth behind his mysterious death, as a new theory emerges that could prove the cause of Poe’s death was haunting him all his life. In a compelling dual-timeline narrative alternating between Poe’s increasingly desperate last months and his brief but impactful life, Mark Dawidziak sheds new light on the enigmatic master of macabre.
